50 Things You Can Stop Buying and Make at Home Instead

Somewhere along the way I started noticing how many things in my cart could just as easily be made at home, cheaper and usually better. Not everything on this list will apply to you, and that’s fine. Pick a few, ignore the rest, and see what sticks. This is the list I wish someone had handed me this list years ago. It would have been so helpful, and so today I’m sharing it with you.

Pick what’s useful, skip what isn’t. Nobody needs to make their own toothpaste and their own coasters in the same week.

In the Kitchen

1. Bread. A basic no-knead loaf only takes five minutes of hands-on work.
2. Salad dressing comes together with oil, vinegar, mustard, and a jar with a lid.
3. Leftover bread turns into croutons with olive oil and ten minutes in a hot oven.
4. Oats, honey, oil, and whatever’s in your cupboard make a solid batch of granola.
5. Save your bones and vegetable scraps in the freezer and you’ve got the start of chicken stock.
6. Canned tomatoes, garlic, and a little patience make a better pasta sauce than most jars.
7. Yogurt just needs milk, a starter culture, and a warm spot for a few hours.
8. Chickpeas, tahini, lemon, and garlic blend into hummus in about five minutes.
9. Flour, water, yeast, and salt are all you need for pizza dough, and it freezes well.
10. Got vegetables about to go soft? A simple vinegar brine turns them into pickles.
11. Tomatoes, onion, lime, cilantro, and salt are the whole recipe for salsa.
12. Peanut butter is just peanuts in a food processor with a pinch of salt.
13. Ketchup comes together with tomato paste, vinegar, sugar, and spices you already own.
14. All mayonnaise really needs is an egg yolk, oil, and a whisk or blender.
15. The same scrap-saving trick behind chicken stock works for meatless vegetable broth too.
16. Tortillas are flour, water, fat, and salt, rolled thin and cooked in a dry pan.
17. Skip the shaker and season popcorn with nutritional yeast, chili powder, or good salt.
18. Buying nuts and dried fruit separately lets you build your own trail mix ratio.
19. Mix flour, baking powder, sugar, and salt ahead of time for a homemade pancake mix.
20. Simple syrup is equal parts sugar and water, heated until it dissolves.

Cleaning and Household

21. Water, vinegar, and a few drops of dish soap make a fine all-purpose cleaner.
22. For glass cleaner, vinegar and water in a spray bottle does the job.
23. Washing soda, borax, and grated bar soap combine into a working laundry detergent.
24. A splash of white vinegar in the rinse cycle works as fabric softener.
25. Dish soap stretches further as concentrated castile soap diluted with water.
26. Olive oil and lemon juice on a soft cloth make a simple furniture polish.
27. Baking soda, vinegar, and boiling water handle most clogs without a bottled drain cleaner.
28. Water, a splash of vodka, and essential oil make a decent air freshener spray.
29. Equal parts olive oil and vinegar work as a wood cleaner.
30. A paste of baking soda and water lifts most fabric stains.

Beauty and Bath

31. Sugar and coconut oil in a jar by the shower make an easy body scrub.
32. Beeswax, coconut oil, and a few drops of vanilla melt down into lip balm.
33. Honey and plain yogurt left on your skin for ten minutes work as a face mask.
34. Cornstarch or arrowroot powder, applied with a makeup brush, doubles as dry shampoo.
35. Epsom salt and a few drops of essential oil are all you need for bath salts.
36. Melt coconut oil, baking soda, and cornstarch together for homemade deodorant.
37. Mashed avocado with a spoonful of olive oil makes a rich hair mask.
38. Baking soda, coconut oil, and a drop of peppermint oil work fine as toothpaste.
39. Reusable cloth squares with a bit of oil replace disposable makeup remover wipes.
40. Essential oils blended in a carrier oil, kept in a small roller bottle, make your own perfume.

Gifts and Extras

41. Soy wax, a wick, and a container you already own are all a candle needs.
42. Brown paper bags decorated with stamps or twine make good wrapping paper.
43. Cardstock, scissors, and whatever’s on hand for decorating turn into greeting cards.
44. Olive oil steeped with rosemary, chili, or garlic becomes a flavorful infused oil.
45. Dried herbs from your garden or windowsill, tied with string, make a thoughtful gift on their own.
46. Baking soda, citric acid, and a mold from your kitchen drawer come together as bath bombs.
47. Fruit, sugar, and lemon juice simmered down and jarred is homemade jam.
48. Vanilla beans steeped in vodka for a few months turn into real vanilla extract.
49. Sea salt mixed with dried herbs or citrus zest makes a nice flavored salt for gifting.
50. Cork or fabric scraps, cut and glued, become simple coasters.

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A few of these will become permanent habits. Others you’ll try once and decide the store-bought version is fine, and that’s a completely reasonable outcome too. The point isn’t to make everything from scratch forever. It’s knowing that you can, so the next time you’re standing in an aisle wondering if you really need to buy something, you have another option.